GERNIKA & 128th Anniversary of the death of Carlo Lorenzini

GERNIKA by Sofia Gandarias
October 20th - December 16th 2018

128th Anniversary of the death of Carlo Lorenzini
Friday 26.10.2018

In Florence, Friday, October 26, 2018, at 12:00 am at theBasilica of San Miniato al Monte, on the initiative of the Cultural Association Pinocchio by Carlo Lorenzini, it is commemorated the Florentine author Carlo Lorenzini, also known under the pseudonym Collodi, the 128th Anniversary of his death (October 26th, 1890 Florence) at the Chapel of the Family Lorenzini.
This year the Millennial of the Benedictine Basilica of San Miniato al Monte is celebrated and the Crypt will host, exceptionally and until December 16th, the exhibition of contemporary art "GERNIKA" by the Basque artist Sofia Gandarias (1951-2016) - sponsored by Association "Pinocchio di Carlo Lorenzini" and curated by the President Monica Baldi - which will open Saturday, October 20 at 16.

The Guernica Triptych, which the artist has dedicated to his hometown and is owned by the Museum of Peace of the Basque city, will be in Florence thanks to the Prior of the Abbey of San Miniato al Monte, Father Bernardo, and to the Former President of the European Parliament, Enrique Barón Crespo, head of Legado Gandarias and represents an unprecedented adventure of beauty, faith and hope.

As highlighted by Monica Baldi, the exhibition's curator architect, in the brochure that enriches the exhibition, "the exhibition is an extraordinary exhibition and cultural project of great emotional strength: it is creating an ideal path between Spain and Italy, stimulating a deep reflection on peace and values, above all thanks to places so rich in extraordinary spiritual and cultural density ".

The three very significant scenes of the artist's work, the five evocative sketches representing violence and war experienced through the drama of colors, the unusual images of women and the clock on the facade of the church that marks the moment of the attack, report the visitor to the terrible air attack that destroyed the Basque city on April 26, 1937.

According to the most profound ethical convictions, this work aims to represent a direct commitment to democratic and civil choices. In fact, Gernika, the Basque martyr city, is one of the most representative images of the twentieth century for its symbolic value and is considered 'Icon of Peace'.

And as stated by Cristina Acidini, President of the Academy of the Arts of Design in Florence "If Picasso had solved the tragedy in a range of gray, Gandarias prevails red, in stark contrast to black and neutral, so as to pour into the triptych and in the other studies a blaze of fire and blood, which is like a cry against all the wars of all time ".

The Anniversary of Carlo Lorenzini

The inauguration of the exhibition "Gernika" in the Crypt of the Basilica of San Miniato al Monte, precedes a very important anniversary of a few days: the 128 years since the death of Carlo Lorenzini which will be remembered in the cemetery of the Porte Sante of Florence, adjacent to the Basilica of San Miniato, where the author is buried.

On Friday, October 26, 2018, at 12, President Baldi makes an appointment to everyone in front of the crypt of the basilica to visit the exhibition and then, in front of the Lorenzini family chapel, to remember the figure of Carlo, not just as "father" of Pinocchio , but also as director of newspapers, where in the second half of the nineteenth century, articles of criticism of the violent methods of wars were found, with the hope of a democratic, peaceful world and of dialogue among peoples. In fact, in the writings of Lorenzini forte is the appeal to popular participation, to the morale and to the value of the unification of Italy.

In this sense the exhibition "Gernika" will offer everyone a unique opportunity to remember the importance of the values ​​transmitted even in the most famous fairy tale in the world considering that Pinocchio has all the credentials to become the real Ambassador of Culture and Peace.